Leaving cert appeals

eoin12345

By any chance does anyone know the date when the appeals are out?! And is it likely that I'll be offered my first choice to start this year if my points go up? ( my first choice only starts next week) thanks

spurious

Mid October, before the 17th.
All the information on the appeals is in the Candidate Handbook.(.pdf)

rainbowtrout

eoin12345 wrote: »

By any chance does anyone know the date when the appeals are out?! And is it likely that I'll be offered my first choice to start this year if my points go up? ( my first choice only starts next week) thanks

They are usually issued on a Wednesday so at best guess I'd say probably the 14th.

As for the second question, nobody knows. It's down to the college in question. They might decide you have missed too much and suggest you start next year. The course might be full and you might have no option but to take the place next year.

On the other hand you could be offered a place to start this year, assuming you get your appeal and your points go up to whatever you needed.You'll just have to wait and see.

eoin12345

Ive done a bit of research and according to the cao website this season for offers ends on the 14th of October at 5.15 so hopefully the results will be out sooner. I'm 99.9% sure my biology grade will go up and give me my 5 points I need (I need 1 mark and the corrector f***** me over and left out a part of a question that is correct according to the marking scheme)
it all seems very unfair really as I'll either be behind if I get offered my place, have to put my life on hold for a year if I get a differed offer, or continue with a course that I'm not overly enthusiastic about just because someone else did a half arsed job. Sorry for the rant.

rainbowtrout

eoin12345 wrote: »

Ive done a bit of research and according to the cao website this season for offers ends on the 14th of October at 5.15 so hopefully the results will be out sooner. I'm 99.9% sure my biology grade will go up and give me my 5 points I need (I need 1 mark and the corrector f***** me over and left out a part of a question that is correct according to the marking scheme)
it all seems very unfair really as I'll either be behind if I get offered my place, have to put my life on hold for a year if I get a differed offer, or continue with a course that I'm not overly enthusiastic about just because someone else did a half arsed job. Sorry for the rant.

People are human. They make mistakes. They correct hundreds of papers. They don't go out of their way to fcuk you over. It could be something as simple as correcting a paper get interrupted, come back to the paper, not realise they haven't read the last part of the answer, turn over and continue and miss a mark.

eoin12345

rainbowtrout wrote: »

People are human. They make mistakes. They correct hundreds of papers. They don't go out of their way to fcuk you over. It could be something as simple as correcting a paper get interrupted, come back to the paper, not realise they haven't read the last part of the answer, turn over and continue and miss a mark.

I agree to some extent. Mistakes do happen, however if someone is 0.25% away from the next grade really there should be some system in place too see if the corrector missed out on something instead of just moving onto the next paper.

rainbowtrout

eoin12345 wrote: »

I agree to some extent. Mistakes do happen, however if someone is 0.25% away from the next grade really there should be some system in place too see if the corrector missed out on something instead of just moving onto the next paper.

That system would be unworkable. Because every paper that was one mark away would have to be checked. Given that our grades are in 5% bands currently that's a lot of papers that could be close to the next grade. And if you do that for people who are one mark away what about the people who are 2 marks away?

That and you will find that even if you recheck a paper that a student is still on 84 or 89 at the end of the recheck and don't deseve any more marks.

eoin12345

rainbowtrout wrote: »

That system would be unworkable. Because every paper that was one mark away would have to be checked. Given that our grades are in 5% bands currently that's a lot of papers that could be close to the next grade. And if you do that for people who are one mark away what about the people who are 2 marks away?

That and you will find that even if you recheck a paper that a student is still on 84 or 89 at the end of the recheck and don't deseve any more marks.

As it is our current system is severely flawed. Just look at last years statistics alone where nearly 1700 papers were upgraded after being appealed. That's almost 20% out of all appeals that were corrected incorrectly the first time around. (not to mention the people who didn't even view their scripts where there is bound to be discrepancies too) but that's not my point.
My point is that because someone decided to make a phone call or take a break to watch corrie and then carelessly continued to correct my paper I still have this "leaving cert" cloud of stress above my head, not to mention the month or so of my time that is being wasted or the financial cost of attending another college while waiting to see if my results go up. I'm not saying im the only one in this position- there is probably hundreds others out there too, but you know what yes I agree mistakes can happen, but at the end of the day the corrector is being paid to do their job and if they are going to take a break they should check back over what they corrected last and when I say "system" I more so meant a protocol (sorry!) Where by which they scan back over their work to see if they made a mistake in adding or left something out etc. because its not the €40 that bothers me if i dont go up a grade, its that mid October I'll be offered my first choice and be in the situation where I've already paid for my deposit and accommodation in college A and all of a sudden I'm offered a place in college B. All the stress and financial costs that I'll (or my parents) incur if I decide to move is down to the corrector who decided they wanted a cup of tea or whatever who at the end of the day was careless.

rainbowtrout

eoin12345 wrote: »

As it is our current system is severely flawed. Just look at last years statistics alone where nearly 1700 papers were upgraded after being appealed. That's almost 20% out of all appeals that were corrected incorrectly the first time around. (not to mention the people who didn't even view their scripts where there is bound to be discrepancies too) but that's not my point.
My point is that because someone decided to make a phone call or take a break to watch corrie and then carelessly continued to correct my paper I still have this "leaving cert" cloud of stress above my head, not to mention the month or so of my time that is being wasted or the financial cost of attending another college while waiting to see if my results go up. I'm not saying im the only one in this position- there is probably hundreds others out there too, but you know what yes I agree mistakes can happen, but at the end of the day the corrector is being paid to do their job and if they are going to take a break they should check back over what they corrected last and when I say "system" I more so meant a protocol (sorry!) Where by which they scan back over their work to see if they made a mistake in adding or left something out etc. because its not the €40 that bothers me if i dont go up a grade, its that mid October I'll be offered my first choice and be in the situation where I've already paid for my deposit and accommodation in college A and all of a sudden I'm offered a place in college B. All the stress and financial costs that I'll (or my parents) incur if I decide to move is down to the corrector who decided they wanted a cup of tea or whatever who at the end of the day was careless.

Approximately 60,000 students sit the leaving cert every year, usually in 7 subjects. Some of those subjects have two papers. Some of those have project components such as an oral, a practical project. There are I would say at a rough estimate about one million pieces of work that are corrected every year for the leaving cert. 1700 is a very small fraction of that.

I view scripts with students every August. I see students who request scripts for all seven subjects. The vast majority find there is nothing wrong with their papers and go home with a reality check in that their paper was corrected fairly and that they didn't perform any better than the grade they were awarded.

People are human. They are not robots. They cannot sit at a desk for 8 hours a day without a break. It wouldn't be expected of them in any workplace and would be illegal. People need breaks. And people make mistakes in all sorts of jobs. Sometimes the knock on effect of that is not being able to go to college this year or having to start late. Life isn't perfect.

The system is actually very fair and transparent. I did my leaving cert in the mid 90s. Appeals existed back then too. Viewing of scripts didn't. Neither did access to marking schemes. I don't know anyone back then that appealed grades. It was so anonymous we wouldn't have known what we were getting ourselves into. I was a straight A student in biology the whole way through fifth and sixth year I got a C3 in my leaving cert. It was touch and go whether I would get my college course as I was 5 points short of the previous year. In the end points dropped 5 and I got in. In hindsight there was a very good chance my grade was added up incorrectly or input correctly at the sec. We'll never know. Appealing never occurred to me. It wasn't something we knew anything about.

You are incredibly lucky to have a system where you can view your script, compare it to the marking scheme, fill in a form where you can highlight and problems you have found and have it checked and If upgraded which results in you getting your preferred college course be guaranteed a place on that course one way or another.

It might seem like the worst thing in the world right now but if you get the upgrade and start the course next year you could use the next 9 months to do so many interesting things or earn a bit of money. You'll be working long enough when you finish college

kittychan

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Approximately 60,000 students sit the leaving cert every year, usually in 7 subjects. Some of those subjects have two papers. Some of those have project components such as an oral, a practical project. There are I would say at a rough estimate about one million pieces of work that are corrected every year for the leaving cert. 1700 is a very small fraction of that.

I view scripts with students every August. I see students who request scripts for all seven subjects. The vast majority find there is nothing wrong with their papers and go home with a reality check in that their paper was corrected fairly and that they didn't perform any better than the grade they were awarded.

People are human. They are not robots. They cannot sit at a desk for 8 hours a day without a break. It wouldn't be expected of them in any workplace and would be illegal. People need breaks. And people make mistakes in all sorts of jobs. Sometimes the knock on effect of that is not being able to go to college this year or having to start late. Life isn't perfect.

The system is actually very fair and transparent. I did my leaving cert in the mid 90s. Appeals existed back then too. Viewing of scripts didn't. Neither did access to marking schemes. I don't know anyone back then that appealed grades. It was so anonymous we wouldn't have known what we were getting ourselves into. I was a straight A student in biology the whole way through fifth and sixth year I got a C3 in my leaving cert. It was touch and go whether I would get my college course as I was 5 points short of the previous year. In the end points dropped 5 and I got in. In hindsight there was a very good chance my grade was added up incorrectly or input correctly at the sec. We'll never know. Appealing never occurred to me. It wasn't something we knew anything about.

You are incredibly lucky to have a system where you can view your script, compare it to the marking scheme, fill in a form where you can highlight and problems you have found and have it checked and If upgraded which results in you getting your preferred college course be guaranteed a place on that course one way or another.

It might seem like the worst thing in the world right now but if you get the upgrade and start the course next year you could use the next 9 months to do so many interesting things or earn a bit of money. You'll be working long enough when you finish college

Very good reply